Reviews by craytonic:

Smell: Only a hint of oak on the scent. Lots of roast malt and molasses.

Taste: Did they add sugar to this one as well? If so, why? Roast malt, molasses, brown sugar, milk chocolate, semi-sweet baking chocolate. The oak is huge on the taste, like a fresh oak barrel. Too much barrel actually. Much hasher than the regular DL or VB DL.

Mouthfeel: Great - thick, chewy, smooth, near perfect.

Drinkability: To much fresh, wet oak and I get some added sugar. Regular DL is better, but honestly none of the three is T-50 worthy in my opinion.

T: Huge sweetness, particularly upfront. Its a sugary, syrup sweetness, which would be a bit much, but it fades quickly and nicely into some absolutely wonderful flavors or charred oak, roasted malt and chocolate. Tons of bourbon barrel notes, which complement the otherwise cloying sweetness of regular Dark Lord. Some boozy ethanol to round out for palate profile. Its simply fantastic. 4.75

M/D: Full bodied, carbonation very low which is appropriate, its smooth but is a bit syrupy, ABV is noticeable but its not hot. Drinkability is good, all things considered. 4.5

O: Overall, this is a great beer. I can confidently say that I’ve never had a beer which was so significantly improved by barrel aging. I am not a big fan of regular Dark Lord, but the Bourbon Barrel Aged Dark Lord is wonderful. Definitely worth seeking out. Looking forward to someday landing a BVDL for comparison. Merry Christmas! 4.75

2012. Heavy booze, sweet Dark Lord balanced by some nice roast in both the nose and the flavor. Vanilla, marshmallow, some oak in the taste. Probably the best part of this beer is the near motor oil mouthfeel. Very enjoyable! Thanks, Frank.

Thanks to Ben for sharing this. Incredibly sweet and fruity from the nose to the taste. It does go overboard on the sweetness, but the fruit character is amazing. It has all the dark fruit normally associated with imperial stout like raisins and especially figs, but it goes beyond that to blend in brighter fruit flavors like apple and cherry that really make it pop. I checked the bottle to make sure this was the bourbon version and not Portuguese brandy. All of that fruit shows in the slight reddish hue of the pour and blends perfectly with the chocolate and molasses flavors. This never gets tart and you never feel like the fruit is taking the place of other stout flavors. I don't get a lot of barrel character or bourbon and the booze is barely noticeable considering the abv. The mouth feel is full but super smooth at the same time. I wish it had more barrel character and less sweetness, but it's so rich and smooth and full of complex fruit flavors.

I had a few of these at the Dark Lord event on Saturday. Pretty fantastic beer - very sweet and heavy on the bourbon. In general, I believe that 3-Floyds is over-hyped because of their awesome marketing and limited production/distribution, but I think this one has earned it's grade.

Sampled this many times at Dark Lord Day the past few years. Always arrives in the plastic cup, but that doesn't detract from this massive brew. Impenetrable black, oily, viscous and thick with a layer of deep dark tan foam on top. Looks like 10K+ mile used motor oil. Aromas reek of deep dark malts with notes of coffee and chocolate all drenched in a wonderful, woody bourbon that jumps out of the cup to greet you. It's really hard to describe but it all comes together perfectly and the aroma is divine.

Sipping this brings you immediate warmth as the big, dense malts collide with the rich bourbon and wood notes. Chocolate, caramel, coffee and molasses all work in as it flows down. The brew is on the sweeter side but never becomes too sweet as it's nicely balanced with a solid bitterness. Finishes with lingering bourbon notes. Simply amazing.

Mouthfeel is big, viscous, chewy and heavy. It's so damn good, albeit a bit hard to drink when you are standing out in the sun. After the tasting tables, a cup of this is usually what does me in every Dark Lord Day. Still, given the chance I would drink this until I fell down. Spectacular stuff that I look forward to every year!

The aroma was a bunch of oak and bourbon, smoke, and dark dried fruits. I Think the oak was the big player for most of the beer, until it had warmed enough. This it had tons of bourbon. Very syrupy an oily looking. Pitch black with a rich brown head. Coat the plastic cup it was served in nicely. Very well balanced. Everything blended quite nice. True to the original. Oak and vanilla. Roast and dark fruit flavors. Very rich, lush, and slick over the tongue. Long finish. Top notch.

Was pitch black in color with a brown head that retained very well and managed to leave some lacing behind. Nice aromas of vanilla and bourbon, with oak coming into play as well. There was also some roastiness, but the vanilla and bourbon seemed to be the strongest. Taste is a blending of vanilla, maple syrup, bourbon, wood, with a finish of some coffee and bourbon. Mouthfeel is thick and very smooth, the bourbon seems to almost lighten it up just a tad, however. Carbonation was on the lower side of medium. Great beer, and probably even more enjoyed in the winter months by a fire, but this sample was enjoyed out in the sun at DLD.

If you are desperate to find out what this beer is like, buy a Bourbon County Stout. BCS is 99% of what this beer is, IMO.

Nearly black, though very heavy and substantial looking in the glass. Shiny and oily, with a small brown head that leaves dots of stick.

Rich, inviting, monstrous aroma of bourbon (vanilla, oak, maple, alcohol hint), chocolates, and roast. This combines marvelously well. As this warms, there's just a hint of an off vegetable-like note, but it's certainly not distracting, especially because it tastes so good.

Any flaw found in the aroma is completley hidden in the flavor. Rich, layered notes of vanilla, bourbon barrel, molasses, chocolates, and roast combine for an incredilby drinkable, though incredibly significant, substantial barrel-aged RIS.